Machine fob elauiitg chair-seats



' i' UNITED STA-'rus PATENT OFFICE.

`EDWARD Q. SMITH, OF. CINCINNATI, OI-IIO.

Specification of` Letters Patent No. 17,300, dated May 12, 1857.

To all 'whom t may concern: v

Be it known that I, EDWARD Q. SMITH, of Cincinnati, in the county ofHamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Cutting or Forming the Upper Surfaces orFace-Sides of OhairfSeats and Similar Articles; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same,vreference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Y Figure l is a longitudinal Vertical sectionof my improvement; the plane `of section being indicated by the line (w)in Fig.

3. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same; the plane ofsection being indicated by the line in Fig. 3. Fig. 3

is a plan or top view of the same. Fig. 4 is a'detached side view of theroller which raises and lowers the cutter-shaft.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding part-s in each ofthe several figures.

This invention relates to certain improvements in machines for cuttingor forming the upper surfaces or face-sides of chair Seats, and otherarticles having curved or irregular surfaces. p

This invention consists in the combination, by1 means of auniversally-jointed shaft, of a feed wheel, which derives its motionfrom the chair seat, with a cam which shifts the bearing `of the cuttershaft.

understand and construct my invention, I will proceedto describe it.-

A represents a rectangular framing, which may be constructed of eitherwood or metal;

and B represents a driving shaft, which is placed transversely on thelower part of the framing.

At each side of the framing, A, on its upper part, two curved or segmentguides,

'C O, are attached. These guides may be constructed of cast iron, andthe two at each side of the framing may be cast in one piece. The guidesreceive the bearings of two feed rollers, D D; the said bearings beingfitted Iloosely in the guides, and each having a pendent rod (b)attached; the said rods passing down through the top pieces of theframing, as clearly shown in Fig. l.

Between the guides, C, C, at one side of the framing A, bearings, E, aresecured;

the said bearings having a small shaft, F,

To enable those skilled in the art to fully l `ters (j) secured to it,the cutting edges of lwhich lare curved according to the character `orform ofthe work to be produced; see

seats.

J, represents a'cuttenshaft, the bearings i (c) (el) of which are fittedbetween the lower ends rof the guides, C. Thebearing (c) is a permanentone, but the bearing (cl) is allowed to slide up and down; its sidesbeing fitted in grooves (e) inthe sides or edges of the two guidesbetween which it is placed. The upper end of the bearing (cl) has a yokeK attached to it; said yoke being also fitted in the grooves (e), seeFig. 3. A shaft is fitted in bearings (g) (g) secured between the twoguides above-mem tioned. This shaft passes through the yoke, K; and theshaft has an eccentric, (.71), upon it; the eccentric being fitted andworking within the yoke, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The inner end ofthe shaft (f) is connected by a universal joint with one end of a shaft,L, and the opposite end of this shaft has its bearing in a weightedlever, M, which is pivoted to one of the guides, O, as shown in Fig. 3.On the shaft L, a feed wheel N is placed, the circumference of which isjust equal, as regardsmeas- 'urement, to the width of the chair-seat orother article to be cut; the object of this will be explained hereafter.

The cutter-shaft, J, has one or more cut- Fig. 3, in which the cutter ismade of the necessary or proper form to cut chair- On one end of thecutter-shaft, J, a pulley, O, is placed.

P represents a table or bed, which rests upon bars, Q, Q, placed at theupper part of the framing, A, one at each side. Both ends of these bars,at their under sides, are inclined, as shown at (k) (la) in Fig. lf; andthese inclined surfaces or planes rest or are fitted in bearings (Z) (Z)the outer bearings (Z) being attached to the inner sides of verticalplates, (m), at the front end of the framing; and the bearings (Z) beingattached to the lower parts of the inner sides of the bases of theguides, C. The outer ends of the bars, Q, Q, have each :a nut (n)attached to them, through which screws (o) edges ofthe table or bed P;seevFig. 3.

S'represents a shaft, placed transversely on the framing,fA, below thebed P. This shaft has a pulley (t) on its outer end, and a belt (u)passes around this pulley and the pulley G on the shaft, F. A belt (o)passes around a pulley (w) on the driving shaft B, and around thepulley,O, on the cuttershaft, J. The shaft, S, is driven by a belt from theshaft, B.

The stuff to be operated upon (shown in red) is previously cut of theproper size, and is placed upon the bed P, face-side downward. The bed Pis then adjusted to the proper height to suit the thickness of thestuff, by turning the screws (o) (o), which move the bars, Q Q; the saidbars being either elevated or depressed, according to the direction inwhich they are moved, in consequence of the inclined planes, (lo) (le).The bed P willv also be raised or lowered with the bars, asyit restsupon them. The plate R is adjusted so asto be in the same plane as thebed P; sufficient space being allowed between the ends of the plate andbed, to permit the cutter to work between them. The feed-rollers, D, D,bear upon the stuif, and feed it over the cutter-shaft; said rollersbeing rotated in consequence of the wheel H gearing into the wheels, I,I, on the rollers. the stu, which, as it is fed over the cutter, rotatessaid wheel and its shaft, L; the eccentric (lz) is also rotated, and, bymeans of the yoke K, raises and lowers the bearing (d) of thecutter-shaft, so that, the face-side of the stuff will be cut insomewhat dishform; for the eccentric is so formed as to graduallyraisethe end of the cutter-shaft, as the cutter commences to act upon thestuff the cutter-shaft being gradually elevated until the center of thestuff reaches the cutter; the end of the shaft then graduallydescending. The wheel N and eccentric (la) make one revolution only, as

each piece of stuff passes underneath the wheel N; the eccentric beingso placed at the commencement of the work that the shaft J may be at itslowest point. The bearing (d) of the cutter is thus shifted by means ofthe feed Wheel N, which is not connected with the driving power, butderives its motion from the chair seat itself, while the latter ispassing through the machine.

If, from any cause, the seat sticks fast in The wheel N also bears upon`the machine, and refuses to move, the position of the cutter remainsunaltered until the seat begins again to progress. This is a feature ofgreat importance, because it prevents all damage tothe seat in case ofaccident or of stoppage of the feed of the stuff. In other machineswhere the bearings of cutters are shifted, the shifting motion isgenerally imparted by means independent of the motion of the stuff, sothat if the stuftl ceases fto move while the other parts are leftinImotion, the cutter bearings continue to be shifted, and the stuvisspoiled.

In the use of other machines, much labor is required to sort out thevarious thicknesses of seats before y'passing them through the machine;anda different adjustment is required for each change of thickness; forif the apparatus is set to cut thin seats, and thick stuff vis thenintroduced, the cutters must sink deeper into the thick seats than intothe/thin stuff, and thus a wrong formation of the concave is made, thework spoiled, etc., or the cutter bearing will not be shifted at theproper moment. No such difficulty occurs in the use of my machine; ifdifferent thicknesses of stuff should be fed indiscriminately throughthe machine, the feed wheel N would accommodate itself to them, andwould rise or fall according to the shaft L allows the wheel N thus toad- `just itself. Much time and labor at present lost in assorting thestu, and adjusting, is

`thus saved by my improvement.

It will be seen that the guides C are socurved as to form apart of acircle, concentric with the wheel H, so that the wheels, I, I, of thefeed-rollers, will not be thrown out of gear with the wheel I-I, inadjusting i the bed, S.

The above machine has been practically tested, and operates rapidly andwell. The pieces of stuff?" pass underneath the feedrollers in contactwith each other; and the work is produced in a uniform manner.

I do not claim, broadly, the shifting or vlifting of cutter shafts orbearings thereof by means of cams, for this is an old and well knownmethod. Nor do I claim adjusting the t-able or carriage by means ofwedges. 'But What I claim as new, in chairseat machines, is:

The combination, by means of the universally-jointed shaft L, of thefeed wheel N with the eccentric (h), when 'the said wheel N derives itsmotion vfrom the chair seat, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

EDWARD Q. SMITHI Witnesses:

C. M. REEVES, JOHN W. RUBY.

